


I'll Follow the Sun

by SgtLeppard



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! - All Media Types, Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Role Reversal, Somewhat, Yami Yuugi | Atem Has His Own Body, bakura's sympathic to yami bakura's cause, ishizu has no chill, joey and marik for best friends 2k19, no ceremonial duel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-29
Updated: 2019-10-06
Packaged: 2020-11-01 10:42:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,442
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20813804
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SgtLeppard/pseuds/SgtLeppard
Summary: And now the time has comeAnd so my love, I must goAnd though I lose a friendIn the end, you will knowOne day, you'll findThat I have goneBut tomorrow may rain soI'll follow the sun





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This ended up coming to me hard out of nowhere and would not get out of my head so I decided to start writing for it and then I just couldn't stop. Like legit, I have not been to sleep yet. It got so long that I had to split in chapters and, as usual, it's not done yet, but I plan to get this completed ASAP before my muse for it completely disappears into the void
> 
> Also aside from the title and summary, try and see if you can spot the Beatles reference in this chapter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After being defeated by Atem, Yami Bakura asks for one final favour from his host before fading away: finish what he started. And Bakura would be damned if he didn't follow through.

For the umpteenth time that week, Bakura laid in his bed, running his fingers over one of the Millennium Ring's prongs. Things had been rather calm since the evil spirit inside the Ring, dubbed Yami Bakura, was defeated. It was also much quieter in his own head.

Somewhat.

Over and over, the spirit's final words to him played in his head. He never told the others that anything had been said at all, much less what was said. Yugi would've said it must've been a scare tactic. Joey would've said it must've been downright creepy. But only Bakura knew what it was.

A plea. A final wish.

_"Ryou,"_ he recalled Yami Bakura saying as he felt him begin to disappear, _"please... I have asked too much of you already and I haven't much time left, but if I may ask one more thing... Only you will understand..."_

"What is it?" Bakura had asked.

The spirit's voice had grown fainter with each passing second. _"Retrieve the Millennium Items... Destroy them..."_

"Destroy?"

_"Please, Ryou... They must be destroyed... You know why..."_

It had only taken a couple of seconds for Bakura to process what he meant and to respond. "I'll do it. I won't let you down, Spirit."

He had felt Yami Bakura smile as he finally faded out of existence, an unspoken 'thank you' left between them as Bakura was finally alone in his body and mind for the first time since childhood.

Had it really only been a week? It felt like he had been haunted by this promise for years. A promise to once again take the Millennium Items, but instead of using them for any sort of power, he was to cast them back into the bloodied earth from whence they came.

Bakura knew why he should do it. During the Battle City tournament, his yami had told him of how the Millennium Items had been created, his entire village being slaughtered to bring them into existence. He told him of his personal quest to rid Egypt, and thus the world, of them and their arcane magic, as well as the ones responsible. Yes, morally questionable things had been done to get this far -- in Bakura's opinion, "morally questionable" was a mild understatement -- but he couldn't afford to stop. Not when so much effort had already gone into his search and retrieval of the items. No matter the cost, he had to continue.

Hearing the story, Bakura couldn't help but sympathise. He himself knew how it felt to lose loved ones so suddenly and not even have a chance to say goodbye. His mother had only taken Amane out to the toy store to pick out a present for a friend's birthday party. She simply hadn't seen the traffic light change, and it had been too late to brake when she noticed it had. Ultimately, it was just an accident.

Kul Elna, on the other hand, was a massacre, no two ways about it. And the only way for the villagers, as well as Yami Bakura, the massacre's only survivor, to finally rest in peace was to destroy the seven Millennium Items that were made from their blood. The ancient magic each item wielded was incredibly dangerous. Even scattered to the four winds, each one ending up in a different person's possession, they were still too powerful. Separating them would only allow events to repeat themselves. No, they had to all be gathered and destroyed once and for all.

Bakura had no doubts that it should be done. It _had _to be done. The question was how. Since the spirit's defeat, the items were under the constant watch of Yugi and Atem, making sure they went nowhere. How the Pharaoh had gotten his own body was a mystery to him, and even though he was certain someone had explained it, it likely went in one ear and out the other, but that didn't matter at the moment. What he needed was either a distraction or cover, something that would allow him to get the items and leave before anyone realised they were gone.

As soon as the answer came to him, he nearly facepalmed. It was so simple! Basic as hell, but effective if done right. And well, Ryou Bakura was the reincarnation of the King of Thieves. This should be child's play. All he needed was an opportunity to present itself.

It would be another couple of days before one did. Yugi's grandfather had to be taken to the hospital. Why, Bakura couldn't recall, but Yugi, worried about Solomon's health, wanted to at least spend the night with him there. Atem offered to stay with him for moral support, but Yugi insisted that someone needed to keep an eye on the Millennium Items and that Atem was best suited. Téa had dance lessons after school, Joey had promised to take Serenity to the carnival, and Duke and Tristan had some bet going on that neither would actually spill the details of, but had to be kept.

This meant that Atem would be at the game shop by himself, and even 3000 year old pharaohs needed to sleep at some point. Basic as hell, certainly not perfect by any means, but Bakura felt it was the best chance he would get for a while. If ever there was a moment to strike, it was now.

He reached the game shop late at night, keeping an eye on the only lit room of the building. The shop had closed hours ago, and with it being -- Bakura checked his watch -- almost 2 in the morning, that lone light would turn off soon.

2 became 3. 3 became 4. _What a fucking night owl, _Bakura thought, raking a hand through his snow white hair. Finally, around 4:25, the light shut off. _About time. _He waited outside for another half hour to ensure that Atem had fallen asleep before making his way to the door, picking the lock, and slipping inside, quietly shutting the door behind him.

It was a little weird to be in the game shop at nearly 5 in the morning. With the room covered in darkness, it was nearly impossible to tell what was sitting on the various stands, even though Bakura had long since memorised where everything was. That memory was going to be helpful in navigating the shop, and thus upstairs, without any light.

Bakura carefully hopped over the counter, making sure not to disturb anything, then crept his way upstairs to the Muto living space. He sighed to himself, taking in his surroundings as best he could with the lack of light. If there was any place up here that the Millennium Items would be hidden, it was likely to be somewhere in Yugi and Atem's shared room. However, he reached into his shirt and pulled out the Millennium Ring, choosing to consult it. It still amazed him how the pair hadn't realised it was missing yet. Then again, maybe they allowed him to take it back. Ugh, at this point, who knew and who cared. The other items needed to be found.

Holding the Ring up, he focused on the remaining six items, wanting to find their hidden location. After a moment, the prongs pointed in the direction of Yugi and Atem's room. Ah, so he was right. Going to the door, he gripped the handle, turning slowly. Unlocked. He peered in and immediately his attention went to Atem's sleeping form, snoring loudly. Lord and Lady, how did Yugi put up with that? "Do I snore, John? Yeah, you're a window rattler, son," Bakura murmured to himself, then stepped into the room.

The room itself wasn't much. Despite being on the smaller side, it was big enough to have two beds, plus the pair's belongings, and not feel completely cramped. Still, there were plenty of places to stash ancient and rather heavy magical artefacts. Holding up his trusty Ring, he slowly panned around the room until the prongs pointed at the dresser in between Yugi and Atem's beds.

Bakura shook his head. Of course they would keep the items close by when they slept. He should've expected this, but he still couldn't help but feel a little irritated. It's one thing to rifle though someone's belongings when they're on the other side of the room. It's a lot harder trying to do the same thing when they're right next to you. _Maybe I can use Atem's snoring to mask the drawers being opened. _Solid plan. One loud snore later, the top drawer was open. Bakura sifted through the contents. Socks, shorts, swimwear, random knickknacks here and there, their deck boxes-- wait, they kept their deck boxes in their sock drawer? Well, he'd heard of weirder places people kept their decks. But no Millennium Items were inside. He waited for another snore from Atem before closing the drawer.

Loud snore, second drawer open. School uniforms, separated neatly by shirts, pants, and jackets. No Millennium Items. Loud snore, drawer closed. Loud snore, third drawer opened. Yugi's clothes. T-shirts, pants, jumpers, something weirdly shaped wrapped in a rag that felt-- oh ew. Bakura's hand recoiled before carefully venturing back in to pull out the gross rag and its hidden item. A quick peek under the rag was enough to tell him that it was definitely not a Millennium Item, and he quickly shoved it back where he found it and shut the drawer, pausing a moment to make sure the noise didn't wake up the Pharaoh.

When Atem continued snoring, Bakura breathed a soft sigh of relief. Only one drawer left. A loud snore later, and it was open. Atem's clothes. Sleeveless shirts, black skinny jeans. Reaching further back, his fingers brushed against something solid and cold. He took hold of the item and carefully removed it. The Millennium Puzzle. _Jackpot. _One by one, he pulled out each of the Millennium Items save for the Scale. Now where could that be? A prong on the Ring pointed to Yugi's bed. "Hmm," Bakura hummed softly. He leaned down and reached under the bed, quickly finding the Scale laying sideways.

A quick stock of inventory told him all Millennium Items were accounted for. Now to get them out of the building. Fuck, he should've brought a duffel bag with him. He looked around the room, spotting a pile of boxes he remembered helping Joey carry up months ago. _That'll do. _He grabbed one of the larger boxes and carefully began to place the items inside, arranging them in a way that they wouldn't clink against each other so much. He left the Ring on, feeling he may need it later. After shutting the drawer, Bakura closed the box as quietly as cardboard would allow, then picked it up and left the room. Slowly, he crept back downstairs, gripping the box tight so that he didn't accidentally jostle the items, or worse, drop the box. "Gods, they're heavy as shit," he grumbled. He finally reached the ground floor, setting the box on the counter before climbing over.

It was still dark outside, but Bakura knew it wouldn't stay that way for long. He needed to get out of there before the others showed up. As he made his way to the door, he briefly wondered if maybe they were holding onto the items to lay them to rest themselves. If that were true, this mission would technically be a waste of his time since Yugi and company were going to do the exact same thing. He shook his head. That didn't matter now. He already stole the Millennium Items out from under Atem's sleeping nose. He was already this far. Go big or go home. Not to mention he had a promise to keep to his long gone yami. He owed that much to him to at least do the job himself.

Taking a deep breath, he exited the shop. Deciding not to bother relocking the door, he quickly headed back to his apartment. He had a lot to do and not a lot of time to do it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bakura has the Millennium Items. Now it's time for him to get to Egypt. Airports, however, are a bit monotonous, and he's fairly certain everyone is pissed at him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really did not mean for this to end up as a "what to do at an airport before you finally take off" mini documentary, and yet. Keep in mind though, I've never actually been on an airliner before and honestly I'm a little afraid to, so I made up as much as I could. If none of this actually works [especially the Millennium Items being checked by airport security, I'm fairly certain it's total bullshit], then whatever
> 
> Most of how I deal with voicemails works the same as how I've written it here, so have that little fun fact

Half an hour later, Bakura had packed what few belongings he wanted to take with him, moved the Millennium Items into a duffel bag for easier carry-on, and booked an empty seat on the next flight out of Japan, which would be leaving in the next couple of hours. The last thing left to do was explain himself. The chances were high that his friends would no longer trust him after this. Hell, they might break ties with him entirely, but he at least had to give his side of the story.

He grabbed a pencil and a sheet of paper, and began writing, doing his best to explain the mission Yami Bakura gave him in his final moments, and hoped they would understand why. After all, this wasn't to gain power or wealth. This was for humanity's own good.

Once he finished, he set the letter on the coffee table. There was no doubt that once they discovered the Millennium Items missing, they would head straight here. He supposed that was how it was, what with his reputation as a thief, even across multiple lives.

Leaving his apartment, he could see a busy morning already beginning. Students on their way to school, suits on their way to work. It would only be a matter of time before traffic began to get bad.

"Taxi!" He waved, jogging to catch up as he flagged the vehicle down, then quickly climbing in. "Domino airport."

As the taxi drove toward the airport, Bakura nervously checked his phone. So far, all was quiet. And didn't the saying go "no news is good news"?

"Running late?" the driver piped up, looking at Bakura through the rearview mirror.

"Somewhat," he admitted. It would explain his nerves to the driver instead of drawing suspicion. "My flight leaves in about forty minutes." Actually two hours, but the driver didn't need to know that.

"Tell ya what, sir. Lemme take a few shortcuts, should shave off a few minutes. Airport security's a bitch."

Bakura nodded. "Thank you."

The taxi veered off to less congested roads, turned corners a bit too tight -- in fact, Bakura was very certain the driver was speeding at this point. They passed by areas that he had barely hung out around, some he'd never even seen before. He leaned back in his seat when he saw Tristan and Joey on the former's bike heading towards the game shop, hoping to avoid being spotted. At least they didn't seem alarmed. In fact, they were laughing about something. Maybe Tristan's bet with Duke, who fucking knows.

Sure enough, the taxi arrived at the airport eight minutes earlier than it would have on the main roads. "Here ya are, sir," the driver announced. "Domino International. And hey," he said as Bakura handed him the fare, "If ya run, ya just might make the gate in time."

"Thank you so much."

"Anytime, sir. Have a good trip!"

Bakura grabbed his bags and quickly ran inside, making a beeline for the front desk. The clerk greeted him with a smile. "Hello! How may I help you?"

"Um- yes, ma'am," he answered somewhat hurriedly, "I purchased an online ticket for Tel Aviv. Am I in time to board?"

"Oh yes, sir. In fact, you're a little early," the clerk answered. "Boarding for Flight 514 will begin within the next hour. What's your name, sir?"

"Ryou Bakura."

The clerk checked the computer, confirming he did indeed purchase a ticket to Tel Aviv, Israel. "Alright. May I see your passport please?" After being handed his passport, she matched up the information. "Alright," she smiled. "You are set. Here is your boarding pass. Your flight will board at Gate 9. Have a safe flight, Mr Bakura."

Bakura adjusted his bags and took the pass. "Thank you so much, ma'am." Next stop, airport security. As much as he loved flying, security was a nightmare to deal with. Given his possession of the Millennium Items, there was absolutely no way this was going to go smoothly. Not unless he was careful in whatever bullshit story he concocted. In fact, he remembered his father would often tell security the alarm-tripping items he was carrying were personal donations to a museum in the city he was travelling to. That just might work for him.

Thankfully, it seemed most people currently at security didn't have much on them that needed to be screened. That would make this go a lot faster, though not as fast as he would've liked. His phone suddenly vibrated. Fuck. He'd have to look at the text later. If only he could just skip this and get straight on the plane and leave, that'd be great, but he was forced to go through it like everyone else.

It felt like forever until it was Bakura's turn to be screened. His phone vibrated with a few more texts, even a call that he had to let go to voicemail. He placed his personal items in the bin provided, including his immediately silenced phone. He was reluctant to remove the Millennium Ring, but he had to, else it set off the metal detectors.

"Interesting necklace you got there," the security agent scanning his effects said.

Bakura gave a soft smile. "It's really ancient."

"Ancient, huh?"

"Mmhm. A set of seven items. The other six are in that bag." He gestured to the bag with the remaining Millennium Items as he stepped over to the body scanner. "All metal, just to be clear."

The agent removed the bag from the conveyor belt and inspected it, giving the bag a cursory wave with a scanning wand just to be certain. Meanwhile, the body scanned checked clear. "May I ask what these are for, sir?"

Time to bullshit. "A museum in Cairo sent me an inquiry about the set, and I have to appear in person with them. Figured I might donate them."

"Ah. Curious though, that." The agent gestured to the Millennium Ring as Bakura placed it back around his neck after the bin had been cleared. "How come you're wearing it?"

"I've had it since I was a child," he admitted, chuckling a little. "I guess you could say it's a sentimental thing." He thumbed one of the prongs. "It'll be hard letting it go."

The agent's face softened. "I know the feeling. It was hard for me to see my daughter off to college. At least I know she's safe and working hard on her degree. I think the same will go for your collection there. Same principle anyway."

Bakura understood what the agent was getting at. "I think you're right. They'll be in good hands at the museum."

Finally, the agent finished up the search. "You're all clear, sir. Hope the museum works out for you."

Bakura grabbed his bags, hoisting the items' bag on his shoulder. "Thank you."

Ugh, good thing that nightmare was over. All that was left now was to wait for boarding. "Gate 9..." Bakura looked at the gate numbers. "9, 9, 9, 9-- ah. 9. Got it." Now knowing where his gate was, he went over to the nearby mini café, ordered a coffee and something to eat, then sat amongst others waiting to board their respective flights. The coffee was terrible, but he'd had worse. At least the food was alright. "Where's Tom Petty when you need him," Bakura mused to himself, checking his watch.

Since he had at least another twenty or so minutes until he could board, he checked his phone, bracing himself for the incredible backlash he knew was coming.

**[Text: Joey]**  
_>hey kura sup? where u at man?_  
_>if u were gonna play hooky least u could do was invite me lol_  
_ >nah srsly dude where r u?_  
_ >yuge thinks u overlsept_  
_ >did u?_

**[Text: Duke]**  
_>Yo you ghosted today_  
_>Did you legit forget school exists? Like man i get we had a long weekend after that shitfest with the spirit_  
_ >If you needed the sleep like tell us when you wake up_

**[Text: Yugi]**  
_>bakura what's up? you didn't show up to class...  
>did you oversleep?_

**[Text: Tristan]**  
_>hey man, thought id check since no one can get a hold of you  
>what's going on? why aren't you at school?_

**[Text: Téa]**  
_>Bakura? Are you feeling okay? Text somebody with something when you can. I'm really worried_  
_>I don't care if it's a random letter, just something so we know you're okay_  
_ >Seriously, Bakura_  
_ >If you're asleep like Yugi thinks, then wake the hell up, snowball_  
_ >I guess you are asleep. You normally respond to that_

So far, no one seemed to know about the items being missing, but that was just text. He'd apparently received more calls while going through security. Some left voicemail messages.

**[You have five unheard messages.**  
**First unheard message]:_  
_**_"__Hey, Bakura! It's Serenity. Joey would call himself, but can't and I'm kinda... skipping class in the bathroom. Please don't tell him. Uh, he wanted me to try and get a hold of you for something. Maybe you overslept or something, I don't know. But yeah, call or text when you can!"_

**[End of message.**  
**Second unheard message]:_  
_**_"Bakura, it's Atem. No one's been able to contact you all morning. If you could, please call back or text at least Téa. She called you a snowball in one of her texts and got nothing from it. Please get in touch when you're available."_

**[End of message.**  
**Third unheard message]:**  
_"Ryou, what's this I'm hearing of you missing school today? Are you sick? Call me back immediately."_

**[End of message.**  
**Fourth unheard message]:**  
_"The mere fact that I am placing a call to you means the rest of the geek squad deemed your absence at school a large enough cause for concern to pester me about it. Answer their phones so they'll stop blowing up mine."_

**[End of message.**  
**Fifth unheard message]:**  
_"Hey, Atem again. I thought I'd try again, though it seems you're still asleep. I'll be heading to your apartment soon, just to check in, an--... What... I-I may be a bit late. Let me call you back."_

**[End of message.  
Replay messages, pre--]  
**>1**  
[First skipped message]:  
**_"Hey, Bakura! It's Sere--"  
_>7**  
[Deleted.  
Next skipped message]:  
**_"Bakura, it's--"  
_>7  
**[Deleted.  
Next skipped message]:  
**_"Ryou, what's this I'm he--"  
_>7  
**[Deleted.  
Next skipped message]:  
**_"The mere fact that I am placing a c--"  
_>7  
**[Deleted.  
Next skipped message]:  
**_"Hey, Atem--"_  
>7  
**[Deleted.  
End of messages.  
Send, press 2. Check rece--]  
**>*  
**[Goodbye.]**

So it seemed Atem had found out the items were missing. Bakura checked his watch again. Just five more minutes. Five more minutes and he'll be bound for Tel Aviv and await his connecting flight to Cairo. He eyed the security. No familiar faces yet. No one attempting to point him out to stop him. Just a bit longer. Just a bit--

With how much his phone began to vibrate, it seemed now everyone knew the Millennium Items were gone. Gulping, Bakura checked the influx of texts.

**[Text: Tristan]**  
_>hey bakura  
>what the FUCK_

**[Text: Téa]**  
_>Bakura, what did you do_  
_>This had better be a sick prank, do you understand me?_  
_ >This is not funny, Ryou Bakura_  
_ >YOU DID WHAT!?!?!?_

**[Text: Joey]**  
_>kura_  
_>my man_  
_ >plz think about this_  
_ >i mean if u wanted to do this u shoulda at least infromed us ahead of time. thats what friends r for rite?_  
_ >man as much as i wanna be mad I cant_  
_ >given wut atem said i kinda get it but still_

**[Text: Yugi]  
** _>bakura what are you doing???_

**[Text: Duke]**  
_>Hey man listen_  
_>Whatever that spirit shit is it is fucking with you okay?_  
_ >Don't listen to it man_  
_ >Where are you imma call mai and get her to pick you up_

**[Text: Atem]  
** _>I'm calling you right now. Answer._

Sure enough, not long after Bakura read that message, Atem called. No. One minute. He can ignore it for one minute. He hit reject, knowing that simply letting the phone ring will do nothing. Another call. Reject. Another call. Reject.

**[Text: Atem]  
** _>Ryou Bakura, answer your phone right this second._

_"Now boarding Domino Airlines Flight 514 outbound for Tel Aviv at Gate 9," _came the voice over the speakers. This was it. Atem was continuing to blow Bakura's phone up with calls. He had three options here: either answer Atem's calls and get chewed out immediately, send a mass text in a final attempt to make his friends understand, or ignore them altogether. He didn't have the time for one of Atem's lectures, nor could he simply continue ignoring them as he had all morning.

He shuffled his way to the gate, the attendant checking his boarding pass, and finally boarded the plane. As he moved past the different rows, he kept count of the row numbers, looking for his seat, and soon finding it next to a window. After placing his second bag in the overhead luggage area, he slid over and into his seat, buckling up and setting the bag with the Millennium Items underneath and holding the straps tight.

Sighing, Bakura pulled his phone back out, even more missed calls from Atem. Answering a call while on the plane is typically frowned upon, so that option was gone. It was either text or ignore. As much as he wanted to do the latter, he couldn't, and so did the former.

"Sir?"

"Hmm?" Bakura had only just started composing his text when the flight attendant stopped by him.

"We'll be taking off soon, so I'll need to you set your phone to airplane mode."

Ah, hell. "Let me get this text out really quickly and I'll do so."

The flight attendant smiled. "Thank you, sir."

Bakura finished his text, gave it a once-over to correct any errors, then hit send, making sure the message had fully sent to all recipients before turning on airplane mode.

**[Text: Bakura; Multiple recipients]  
** _>I'm sorry for the abruptness, but there was little other choice. Please try to understand. I've left a letter in my flat that I hope fully explains my situation. It's not trickery or a remnant of the spirit left behind coercing me. I am making this choice of my own volition. I made a promise, and I'll be damned if anyone prevents me from keeping it. I have to do this, and no, you cannot talk me out of it. I am going to do this, even if it ultimately destroys the friendships I share with everyone. I owe that much to the spirit. I'm sorry. I love you all._

As the plane taxied out onto the runway, Bakura thought back to his conversation with his yami. He had never attempted to shorten Yami Bakura's purpose to a single sentence, but found that it came easily. All he ultimately wanted was justice for his lost village and to avenge his loved ones. What hero hasn't wanted for that?

Bakura chuckled to himself as the plane finally took off, practically hearing the spirit say, "Let's not make a saint out of a sinner."


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bakura's finally in Egypt, and Marik offers him a place to stay. Ishizu is quick to chew him out, and he receives an unlikely call of support.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The majority of this chapter was written with [Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1JRToyi6n4) playing in the background. It won't leave my head, and thus it makes a nice little cameo because yeah
> 
> Marik and Ishizu make their entrances here! And the end of the chapter is full of dialogue, sorry orz

"Oh jetlag, thou art a heartless bitch."

Bakura faceplanted on the couch. It wasn't comfortable by any means, but it was certainly better than attempting to sleep on the plane after staying up all night to steal the Millennium Items from the game shop. The flight from Domino City to Tel Aviv had taken a whopping twelve hours. The connecting flight to Cairo was only about two hours, but that extra two hours of jet-speed travel really messed with him, especially with how difficult he found it to sleep on the way to Tel Aviv.

"Your couch is still utter shit, Marik," Bakura said, voiced muffled by the rough couch cushion.

Marik snickered, "Better than trying to sleep in an equally shit chair at 900 kilometers an hour. Plus, free room and board."

Couldn't argue there.

It was moments like these that made Bakura glad he was still friends with Marik after Battle City. Not long after he had landed in Tel Aviv and turned off airplane mode, his phone had practically exploded with twelve hours' worth of text messages and missed calls. He had dismissed the texts without looking at them, though tempted he was to look, and looked at his call log. Not surprisingly, most of the missed calls were from Atem, though his father had also attempted to call him as well. However, there was one missed call from a certain Ishtar household, with only one message to accompany it in his voicemail.

_"Give me a call when you can, Bakura."_

Given that it was Marik who had called, not to mention he was literally on his way to his home country of Egypt, Bakura had decided to return the call. After telling him that he was flying to Cairo via Tel Aviv, Marik had promptly told him to save the details for in-person, and just let him know when he'd be landing so he could give him a ride to his house.

Boy, was Marik a sight for sore eyes after finally arriving in Cairo. The pair hugged, and Marik studied Bakura's barely held-together appearance. "You look tired."

"You don't know the half of it," Bakura answered, "and I really appreciate the ride, mate. I'm fucking jetlagged."

Marik laughed. "Well then, let's get you to my place before you collapse in the damn airport."

Bakura was so exhausted that his brain got a bit philosophical over the seemingly surreal surrounding of riding on the back of Marik's bike and speeding through Egyptian roads while "Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress" blared out of the speaker the former Tomb Keeper had installed. Did it mean something? No. Jetlag. Definitely the jetlag.

Which led to now.

"Won't Ishizu get angry about my being here?" came Bakura's muffled voice, sounding sleepier by the second.

"Mmhm," Marik hummed. "I mean, she'll bitch anyway for various reasons, but if you manage to conk out now, you'll delay the wrath for however long you're asleep for."

If Marik said anything else, Bakura's brain didn't register it as sleep quickly claimed him.

\----------

Bakura groaned as he shifted over onto his back. His arm was numb from laying on it, and he slowly flexed his fingers until they regained some amount of feeling. He sat up and stretched, his back popping as he did, then rubbed his bleary eyes.

Marik soon walked in, a plate of food in his hands. "Morning, sunshine."

Yawning, Bakura asked, "What time is it?"

"A little after midnight," Marik said, handing the plate to Bakura. "You crashed pretty hard."

Midnight? He left at 9 and took twelve hours to get to his first stop and-- oh yeah, time zones. Duh. No daylight savings in Egypt either. "Does Ishizu know?" he asked, taking a bite of the food. Much better than the plane.

"Oh yeah. She knows and she is... not happy. She called the Pharaoh earlier and he told her what happened."

"And you?"

Marik rubbed the back of his neck. "A little bit from an even earlier call, but not everything. I was hoping you'd tell me. When you're done eating, that is."

Nodding, Bakura continued eating, mulling over how to tell Marik the full story. After all, not even he knew that the spirit wasn't evil incarnate like everyone else believed. He briefly wondered how everyone was taking it now that the information had been simmering for a little while. There was no way Atem was anything but angry. Téa had similarly seemed mighty pissed off, while everyone else was a mixture of shock, confusion, and concern. Only Joey had said he wasn't mad, couldn't bring himself to be. Bakura could only hope. Of everyone back in Domino, he was the last person he wanted mad at him, but that wouldn't change now if he was.

Half an hour later, he finished, getting up to put the empty plate in the sink. He sat back down and was about to fill Marik in when Ishizu walked in. Ah, the serious look that thinly veiled the anger and disappointment underneath. It wasn't hard to picture that look on Atem.

"You have the Millennium Items." It wasn't a question.

Sighing, Bakura nodded and reached for the bag. "In here-- wait, wrong bag... This one."

He placed the bag on the coffee table, and Ishizu opened it. Once she was satisfied that all seven were present, including having Bakura produce the Ring from under his shirt, she straightened, arms crossed. "Start talking."

Bakura rubbed his face and began to explain. It took a few minutes to go into the details, and he just knew they had questions. Why shouldn't they after all?

Not surprisingly, Ishizu, whose expression did not change one bit, was the one to start asking questions. "Did you, at any point, stop to think about what you were doing? Did it not even occur to you that Zorc had lied to you?"

It grinded Bakura's nerves whenever his yami was called that. Zorc was not his yami, and he sorely wished everyone else would get with the goddamn program. "He may have been deceitful to begin with, but--"

"But nothing!" Ishizu interrupted. "Zorc has had very little reason to be truthful to you in any capacity, yet here you are blindly fulfilling a favour for him!"

Bakura barked a sardonic laugh. "You're missing the point, Ishizu! And furthermore, stop calling him 'Zorc'! What part of 'they are not one and the same' did you not comprehend!? The spirit was tainted by Zorc's presence in the Ring and you bloody well know it!"

The only change to Ishizu's expression was a slight widening of her eyes and a raised eyebrow, beckoning Bakura to continue, which he was only too happy to oblige. "Zorc was a demon of pure evil from Hell. The spirit was just a villager who had to watch everyone he ever gave a damn about be slaughtered to make these blasted things!" He emphasised his point by holding the Ring up, briefly shaking it. "And I don't know about you, but with everything that'd been done, I'd be mighty pissed off and certainly want them wiped from existence. Hell, I _have _wanted them gone for 3000 years! I am his reincarnation after all."

Silence stretched over the trio for a moment until Ishizu leaned forward and changed tactics. "Did you not think that you could've simply brought this to your friends' attention?"

Rubbing his temple, Bakura answered, "Given the sheer amount of texts I've gotten from everyone, I doubt they'd believe me anyway."

"And that is where you have made your greatest mistake, Bakura." This caused him to look up at her in confusion. "Instead of trusting your friends, you instead acted rashly and barely thought anything through. Is that not so?"

Bakura deflated a little. "I-I guess... I thought I'd--"

"Do it all by yourself?" Ishizu pinched the bridge of her nose, sighing in exasperation. "Truly you are a fool, Ryou Bakura." She said nothing for a few tense seconds before getting up to leave the room. As she reached the doorway, she turned and addressed her baby brother. "He's your guest, you're responsible for him. Understood?"

Marik cleared his throat. "Ah- yeah. Got it."

She said nothing further and left. Marik turned to Bakura. "I guess that means she's not kicking you out."

"Suppose not," Bakura mumbled back.

"So... what now?" Marik asked.

Bakura shrugged, picking his phone up and seeing the massive amount of text messages he had yet to actually read. He knew he should read them, but he wasn't sure he could bring himself to. He supposed he wasn't ready to face his friends' combined ire over his stunt.

His phone began to vibrate, an unknown number calling. "Hmm?"

"Now who could that be?"

"Not a clue," Bakura said. "It's definitely from Domino, though."

Marik gently nudged his friend. "Go ahead, answer it."

"You sure?"

"You're already here. There's not much they can do to stop you now."

He supposed he had a point. Taking a deep breath, he answered. "Hello?"

There was a sigh of relief from the caller. _"An' here I was startin' to think ya got hurt, 'Kura."_

Bakura gasped. "Joey!?"

_"Yeah man, it's me. Had to borrow Serenity's phone since ya weren't answerin' mine. Pullin' that shit on us an' goin' totally silent scared the hell out of me, I hope ya know that."_

Sighing, he replied, "I'm really sorry, it's just--"

_"That thing about the Millennium Items, I know. Did ya look at any of your texts lately?"_

"Well, I-- no, I haven't."

_"'Kay, well, I'll just say it again here since I actually got your attention." _Bakura could hear Joey clear his throat on the other end. _"Listen, 'Kura. I'm not mad at ya. Can't say the same for everyone else-- hell, I didn't ask. If anythin', I'm more pissed that ya didn't let me in on it. Friends don't let friends do stupid shit alone, y'know."_

Bakura couldn't help but chuckle. What did he even do to deserve a friend like Joey? "I appreciate that. I really do."

_"An' speakin' of doin' stupid shit," _Joey said,_ "please, for the love of whatever Gods ya pray to, tell me there is _somebody _wherever ya are keepin' tabs on ya."_

"Mmhm, Marik's here."

_"Marik? Hold the fuck up. Ya seriously went to Egypt?"_

"I thought that was obvious." Bakura checked his watch. He hadn't adjusted the time yet. "Shouldn't you be at school right now?"

He could only imagine the sheepish look on Joey's face. _"Heheh, yeah, kinda. In fact, I betta get goin', an' yo, Marik!"_

Bakura held the phone over towards Marik so he could hear and answer. "Yeah?"

_"Make sure 'Kura don't get into any trouble, aight?"_

Marik chuckled, "Ishizu's beat you to that point, Joey. She all but threatened me to."

_"Good to know, man. Aight, I gotta split. Take care, 'kay?"_

"We will!"

"You got it."

"Oh, Joey!"

_"Yeah?"_

Bakura sighed a little. "Let everyone know I'm alright."

_"Will do, man. See ya later."_

After they hung up, Marik turned to Bakura. "So when are we doing this?"

Bakura, in the middle of saving Serenity's number for future reference, looked up at his friend. "We?"

Marik smiled. "You heard Joey. 'Friends don't let friends to stupid shit alone.' I'm going with you." Chuckling, he added, "Besides, Ishizu said I'm responsible for you, so it's a bit mandatory."

"I think I'll need a bit more rest before we go," Bakura answered. "Maybe the day after tomorrow."

"Technically tomorrow." Marik smirked. "It's past midnight after all."

"Alright now." Bakura playfully shoved Marik's shoulder. "You get what I mean."

"I know, I know. By the way, fix your watch."

"Oi!"


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bakura finally plucks up the courage to give his friends a call, and his and Marik's journey to the lost village of Kul Elna begins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So as far as the dub is concerned, we don't know where exactly in England Bakura's from, so have this minor headcanon. And as much as Bakura's accent is pretty much a staple of his character, I wanted him to have a different regional accent that was more natural to him than his usual RP without defaulting to Yorkshire because of, um, reasons <strike>looks at Def Leppard</strike>
> 
> Ahem, anyway, I tend to avoid writing out accented speech for various reasons except for maybe a few places [obviously Joey's an exception], so you'll just have to use your imagination when he switches to his native accent, which will last for the rest of the chapter when it happens. This also kinda retcons how he sounds in previous chapters when he's talking to himself, thinking, or just utterly tired, and thus further affects how he'll sound in later chapters for future reference. I'll do my best to mention which accent he's using where necessary
> 
> I'm missing something else here... Oh yeah, enjoy the Avengers quote

The decision to wait a day before heading out was ultimately a wise one. It wouldn't do for Bakura, in his jetlagged state, to be out in the middle of the desert. Waiting for his biological clock to catch up was boredom-inducing, but there wasn't too much he could do about it. Ishizu didn't make any further reference to Bakura's reasoning for being there, but he could tell she was still a little ticked. He couldn't blame her, really.

It was about 9 in the morning when Bakura decided to finally call Atem, bracing himself for the lecture of a lifetime -- and then some.

_"Bakura."_

Bakura hummed sheepishly, "Aye. Erm- is, uh-- is everyone there?"

The line on Atem's end got scratchy for a second before settling down, but with somewhat louder background noise. _"You're on speaker."_

Well, that was one way to answer his question. "Ah- um... I'm- about to head for Kul Elna." The reason why was obvious. "A-and I'm leaving my phone with Ishizu in the meantime. No point taking it way out there with no means of keeping its charge so..." Bakura sighed. "If anyone has anything to-to yell at me before I go off the grid for the next few days... now's your chance."

It was Yugi who spoke first. _"That was an incredibly shitty stunt for you to pull, I hope you know that."_

Bakura nodded to himself. "So I've been told."

_"Then why couldn't-- why didn't you just tell us?"_

"Take a second and think if you would've even believed me."

The silence that followed spoke volumes. _"We would've at least given you the benefit of the doubt." _This coming from Duke.

_"You're our friend, Bakura," _Téa said. _"We just-- we worry about you a lot."_

_"You know, while we're at it," _from Tristan, _"why didn't the spirit even say anything?"_

_"Ask a stupid question, Tristan."_

_"Can it, Duke."_

_"The point is," _Atem interjected, _"if you or the spirit had simply come to us first, this wouldn't be happening."_

"I know." Bakura sighed, "Ryou Bakura, dumbass of the year."

_"'Ey, man, don't sell yaself short like that," _Joey said. _"So this clearly wasn't thought through. We've all been there before."_

_"And this is why we, as a collective whole, need adult supervision," _Yugi added. _"And no, Atem doesn't count."_

_"Why not?"_

_"Three words, Tristan: Seal. Of. Orichalcos."_

_"Don't remind me."_

_"Can we get back on topic, please?" _Téa pleaded.

_"Right." _Atem cleared his throat. _"Listen, Bakura. We've all had some time to think about what you wrote in your letter. Yes, some of us are still feeling stung over this, but... we understand what you're trying to do, and you're right. The Millennium Items are too dangerous to remain in the world and must be laid to rest. In fact, I'm a bit surprised neither Yugi nor I thought to do that ourselves."_

That was news to Bakura. "Then what would you have done with them?"

Yugi answered, _"No idea, really. We- didn't really think that far ahead."_

"Hello, pot. My name is kettle."

A bunch of giggles came from the other end. _"Aw hush," _Yugi said playfully. _"Like I said, adult supervision."_

_"Hey, would Kaiba count?"_

_"Fuck no. He's worse."_

_"Maybe Mai?"_

_"That I could see, but she can also be just as bad."_

"I vote Ishizu."

There was beat of silence before a chorus of agreements sounded out. No other actual adult could top her in the adulting department. _"Alright, guys," _Yugi said, calling everyone to attention, _"now that we've established that Ishizu is the de facto mom friend--"_

_"Yes," _Atem picked up. _"Please be careful, Bakura. The desert is not a forgiving place."_

"I understand."

_"Good. Joey has told us Marik will be going with you?"_

"Hmm. Ishizu practically labeled him my warden," Bakura snorted. "Even if she didn't, he said he was going to tag along anyway."

_"Cos ya really don't need to be alone all the way out there, 'Kura."_

_"Joey's right," _Téa said. _"And we all wish you two luck out there."_

Bakura smiled, even though he knew his friends couldn't see it. "Thank you, guys. I can't tell you how much that means to me."

_"Alright, we're gonna let you go now," _Yugi spoke. _"Take care out there, okay?"_

_"Yeah man, good luck!"_

_"Ya know Serenity's wishin' you all the luck in the world, too."_

_"Oh real quick, before you go, don't worry about your dad. We told him you have the flu. He bought it."_

"Thanks for that, Téa."

_"Bye Bakura!"_

_"Good luck!"_

_"Say hi to Marik for us!"_

Bakura hung up, sighing. It was reassuring to know his friends at least had his back, despite some being less than thrilled about what he did. That was what he had hoped for anyway.

Marik poked his head through the doorway. "Ready when you are."

Bakura nodded. "Right." He grabbed the duffel holding the Millennium Items and followed Marik outside, where Ishizu and Odion were waiting. While Marik and Odion hugged -- they had come to an agreement earlier that Odion would be remaining at home, since there wasn't an apparent danger to Marik's life -- and said their goodbyes, Bakura stepped over to Ishizu and handed her his phone. "If you need to, you can call Atem, let him know if anything changes. Let me show you--"

"Worry not," Ishizu said. "I know how to use a mobile phone."

"Ah- okay."

"Bakura." She waited until he had returned his attention to her before saying, "Good luck."

Smiling softly, he answered, "Thank you."

Marik started up his bike, Bakura climbing on behind him and holding the duffel tightly, and the pair were off.

\----------

After reaching the outskirts of town, they had traded the bike for a couple of camels, since the bike wasn't built for going through the vast expanse of the desert, not to mention the sand would clog up the engine. That bike was Marik's baby and he sure wasn't going to let it get damaged by the elements. He left the bike in the care of a family friend before returning with the camels and some extra supplies, and he and Bakura began their long journey to the lost ancient village.

The desert sun overhead was scorching, but there was little to be done outside of copious amounts of sunscreen. After all, Bakura doesn't tan, he burns. They spent most of the day in silence, neither one much in the mood for conversation, and hearing only the desert winds and their equipment jostling. Occasionally the Millennium Items clinked against each other inside their duffel. All they could see was sand stretching in every direction. Bakura felt it was too much to hope for a little cloud cover. It was actually making him miss the snow back home, despite it likely being too warm to snow at this particular time of year.

As day slowly turned to night, the temperature began to drop. Eventually they decided to stop and set up camp, and as they did so, Marik decided to break the silence. "I've been meaning to ask you something, Bakura."

Bakura looked over at Marik as he struck a match to start a fire. "What is it?"

"Well," Marik started, "when I picked you up from the airport, you sounded a little... different."

"Different?" Bakura raised an eyebrow. "Different how?"

Marik shrugged. "I'm not sure. Maybe it was because you were tired since it was a little difficult to understand. I just-- it struck me a bit odd, you know?"

Bakura chuckled, "You're not wrong. My accent probably changed a bit."

"Your accent?"

"Aye. Believe it or not, this is... not how I naturally sound," Bakura admitted.

Marik's eyes widened a bit. "What, you mean you're not from England?"

"No, I am, just a different region of England. Up north, actually."

"How far up north?"

"Lancashire," Bakura answered.

Marik whistled. "I guess that a northern English accent is different?"

"Mmhm. This accent, the one I'm using now, it's called 'Received Pronunciation'. The only reason I use it is because it's easier to understand than my native accent, and honestly I hate it. RP just doesn't sound right for me to use, but then it-it's like, 'Would you rather use an accent you hate to be understood more clearly the first time, or use your native accent at the cost of being asked to repeat yourself several times before they get what you're trying to say?'" Bakura chuckled and shook his head. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to go on a tangent there."

"No, it's fine," Marik said. "I'm actually kinda curious to hear how it sounds full on."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Yeah, I wanna hear it."

"Okay." Bakura sighed, then switched to his native accent. "Raise the mizzenmast, jib the topsails!" He pointed to no direction in particular as Marik cackled. "That man is playing Galaga! He thought we wouldn't notice... but we did." Hot damn, it felt good to ditch RP.

Marik laughed, "I'm so glad I saw that movie. I love Iron Man."

"Thought you'd like that."

"It's definitely a little hard to get," Marik said once he composed himself, "but I think with enough exposure to it, I shouldn't have any trouble with it."

"That's the main thing, really. Once you're around it enough, it gets easier to decipher." Bakura scratched his head. "Y'know, I'm surprised you're not having as hard a time as everyone else normally does. I mean, you should've seen me first day at Domino High. Couldn't nobody understood a word I said."

Marik said, "Part of that might be phrasing. 'Couldn't nobody understood'?" He chuckled a little. "What kind of sense does that make?"

Bakura laughed, "Dialects, mate, and that's an 'ole other-- sorry, _a whole _other can of worms to open. Yeah, dropping letters is pretty common, like I just did."

"That's actually really cool. Can you try teaching me that?"

"I mean, I'm not the best accent teacher in the world, but I could give it a go."

They spent the next hour talking and testing various accents before turning in. Several hours later, they were on the move again, the hot sun once again beating down on them. It became a pattern. Travel during the day in near total silence, make camp at night, converse about this and that, sleep, pack up, rinse and repeat. On their third night in the desert after turning in, Bakura couldn't help but feel grateful for Marik's presence. Not only did he know more about surviving in the desert, but keeping a conversation with the former Tomb Keeper was nothing short of a delight. Sure, Marik had moments of excessive chattiness, but Bakura felt that this far out in the desert and away from civilisation, it was a welcome change and made the journey just that much less lonely.

Day four, the pattern was beginning to sink in, but it wouldn't get much of a chance to. There was nothing much to see and thus nothing to point it out, but Bakura could feel they were getting close. "Oi, Marik."

Marik looked over at his friend. "Yes?"

"How much longer do you reckon we'll be?"

"Not much longer," he answered. "I'd estimate another couple of hours, give or take."

Guesses were really all they had, since the Shadow RPG didn't really pinpoint the village on an actual map, nor did it state where it was relative to any modern towns. However, it was clear that the further they went, the closer they got.

Eventually, they came to what looked like village ruins flanked by a rocky ridge. There was no doubt.

"We're here."

Kul Elna.


End file.
